Thursday, March 12, 2015

For our first March episode of KCRW's The Spin-Off, Joe and I reunited with Cynthia Littleton for a mini Variety reunion. Here's what we chatted about:

We take a look at one number that gives us a snapshot of the current state of the TV industry. This month's number? $14.99.

Fourteen dollars and 99 cents is what it will cost you every month for HBO's new standalone streaming service, HBO Now, which will launch in April, ahead of the Game of Thrones season premiere. At least for now, the service will be exclusive to Apple devices.
Then, we'll soon be saying hello -- or maybe more appropriately welcome back -- to an NBC executive who has some experience getting the Peacock's news division back on track when things have gone awry. We talk about what Andy Lack's return to NBC could mean...or not mean...to Brian Williams' career.

We also say hello to another spin-off on AMC. The network announced a two-season order for a Walking Dead prequel. Add this to Better Call Saul, a Breaking Bad spin-off, and AMC will soon have two prequels on the air.

Then we look at two new comedies that feel more like cable shows, but got their starts at Fox and NBC: The Last Man on Earth and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Both wound up taking different paths and strategies.